In recent years, a system that manages server devices and network devices in an integrated fashion and provides a service or an application to a user via a network has been used.
In such a system, when a new virtual machine (VM) is activated on a server device, an object device on which the VM is to be activated is identified, and the VM is installed and activated on the identified device. Processing in the installation of the VM is generally called provisioning. As examples of the provisioning process, there are change of the settings in a firewall, change of the route of a switch, and the like.
As a technology to identify an object device of provisioning, there is known a technology to identify a network device on the shortest route in routes from a new VM to the Internet. Furthermore, there is also known a technology to monitor traffic of a network topology and identify a network device on the lowest-traffic route. Moreover, there is also known a technology to identify a highest-performance network device.    Patent document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 07-219907    Patent document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-068367    Patent document 3: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-124382    Patent document 4: International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2008/084826
However, in the methods for identifying an object device of provisioning according to the conventional technologies, there is a problem that the load on a identified network device is increased, and the load balance of the entire system is worsened, resulting in degradation of an efficiency of the system operation.
There is explained an example where new VMs are sequentially activated on a system having three firewall devices that differ in processing performance. When provisioning is executed each time a VM is activated, an object device of provisioning is identified each time a VM is activated. If the conventional technology is used in such a case, one firewall device is continuously identified as an object of provisioning.
Specifically, provisioning is continuously executed on a highest-performance firewall device in the three firewall devices. Or, provisioning is continuously executed on a firewall device identified as the one on the shortest route. Therefore, the processing load on one firewall device is increased, and the load balance of the entire system is worsened. In such a state, there may be a delay in processing via the firewall device on which the processing load is increased, and an efficiency of the system operation may be degraded.